The UPC School boosts women's careers in technology sectors

The UPC School of Professional & Executive Development has presented the Dona Tech XXI and Futura Dona Tech XXI awards to M. Cinta Pastor, the technical director of the Dr. Oliver Rodés laboratory, and to Cesca Admetller, holder of the Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).

5th June 2009

The UPC School of Professional & Executive Development, a school of excellence for professionals and executives in the technology field (architecture, engineering, and ICTs), presented the Dona Tech XXI awards on 4 June. The aim of this initiative is to recognise the success of female managers in the predominantly male environment of technology.

The awards, which were presented at the UPC School’s main building, the Tech Talent Center, are divided into two categories: the Dona Tech XXI Award, which recognises the professional career of a woman in the technology sector who has reached a high level of responsibility and has achieved a successful work-life balance; and the Futura Dona Tech XXI Award, which is given to three women in the technology field who are beginning their professional careers with initiative and motivation.

The jury was made up of representatives from the UPC, the Catalan government (Generalitat de Catalunya) and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. The Dona Tech XXI Award was given to the holder of the Diploma in Industrial Chemistry and Degree in Chemistry, M. Cinta Pastor, and was presented by the UPC president, Antoni Giró i Roca. The members of the jury valued Pastor’s successful career as the technical director of the Dr. Oliver Rodés Laboratory, a post that she has held for over 35 years.

In the category Futura Dona Tech XXI, three promising young women in the technology sector were given awards. The first prize was awarded by Marisol Marqués, the vice-president for Institutional Relations and Regional Promotion of the UPC, to Cesca Admetller Navarro, an industrial engineer and analyst at the firm ABB with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The jury took the winner’s academic merits and professional experience into consideration. In particular, they classified her as a woman with a vision for the future.

The second prize was awarded to Laia Martín Vidal, a chemical engineer and demand planner for Sara Lee Iberia. The third prize was given to Alba Rosado Garcia, a telecommunications engineer and consultant for Techforce. Joaquim Olivé Duran, director of the UPC School, and Xavier Carbonell i Roura, general director of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, presented the second and third prizes, respectively. ■